On the use of st-segment shifts and mathematical models for identifying ischemic heart disease

It is well known that myocardial ischemia can be observed as a shift in the ST segment of an ECG recording. In this paper we will discuss how ST-segment shift, along with advanced mathematical models, can be used to compute the size and location of the ischemic region-an inverse problem. Traditionally, the inverse approach to localizing ischemia has been based on the calculation of epicardial potentials. We present an alternative approach where the location and size of the ischemic region are computed directly by solving a parameter identification problem based on a level set framework and partial differential equations (PDEs). More precisely, the ischemic region is identified by minimizing an objective function measuring the difference between the recorded and simulated ECG signals. Our results show, at least for synthetic ECG data, that values of ST shift recorded at the body surface are capable of identifying the position and (roughly) the size of the ischemia